Tiny Steps, Baby Hops
by CFVY
Summary: There's so much required from the dex holders. Gold treasures these small moments, away from responsibility and conflict.


" _You can do it, little guy!"_

The warm sunlight trickled down through the tree branches, and the lush, green leaves rustled under the caress of the wind. Ilex Forest seemed to be one, living being. Pokemon scuttled about in the underbrush, the small babble of a trickling stream could be heard in the distance. Gold savored small moments like these, where he could escape from the duties of a dexholder, and relax. As the "Hatcher" dexholder, it was mainly his job to take care of eggs, and baby pokemon shortly after their birth. Which, was what he was doing about now.

He carefully eyed the pichu across from him, watching as it fumbled around and struggled to stand. The poor, little electric-type had been born weak and sickly. Gold had taken it upon himself to nurse the pichu back to health, even taking it with him on his travels, wherever he went. Of course, he never strayed too far from Pokemon Centers, just in case he needed medical attention. The pichu looked over at him, gaze determined. At the sight, Gold cracked a grin. Maybe he had rubbed off on the little guy just a bit!

The pichu began to stumble across the grass, clearly struggling, although less than he had been in previous weeks. Under Gold's care, his condition was slowly improving. During the beginning of their time together, the pichu had barely been able to stand due to being so weak. However, the tiny electric mouse had only been born about three weeks ago. There was plenty of time to help him grow. But he had more pep than Gold had expected! Despite his weaknesses, he seemed determined to become stronger. It was admirable. A grin came over his features as the pichu walked steadily through the grass, before hopping into his arms.

"Great job!" Gold cheered enthusiastically, reaching out to support the small pichu. Relief washed over him. They were making decent progress! He held the small pichu in his lap, stroking his head gently. Feelings of pride swelled in his chest as he gazed down at the electric mouse pokemon. Green had helped in forming a physical therapy routine for the little guy. Soon enough, he'd be like any other, healthy pichu! The Daycare workers had been skeptical about the pichu ever growing stronger, but Gold was determined to prove them wrong!

Gold was snapped from his thoughts as he heard footsteps against the grass, coming from behind him. The black-haired trainer turned around, giving a grin as he spotted a familiar redhead. _Silver_ was known as the "Exchanger", and over the years, he had grown quite close to Gold, and their other friend Crystal. They had been through their fair share of adventures. Even though Silver might not want to admit it... they were all very friendly with each other. Their relationship now was a far cry from when they had first met, after Silver stole a totodile from Professor Elm's lab.

"Hey." Silver greeted bluntly, eyeing Gold in a curious manner. "Is this that pichu that you're taking care of?" The silver-eyed boy questioned, hands shoved into the pockets of his black jacket. He gazed coolly at Gold.

"Sure is." Gold replied immediately, smiling up at Silver. He patted a spot on the ground next to him. "Don't be a stranger, Silv! Take a seat." The redhead rolled his eyes at the nickname, but sat down regardless, watching the pichu nestle into Gold's lap. Most of their meetings went like this. By now, the two were so casual that "hellos" weren't really needed. Gold hadn't of expected to see Silver here. He had last seen the redhead a week ago, and he had been heading to Unova for some big event, with Green. Which, was quite comical, since the two certainly didn't get along that well. "How was your big convention?"

"Fine." Silver shrugged. "Green took care of most of the talking. It was too crowded, though." Gold knew that Silver wasn't a fan of crowds. The redhead didn't really feel safe when in them or near them. The event had been a large gathering of dignitaries in the pokemon world. The dexholders were apparently viewed as dignitaries, and held in high esteem.

Gold's attention was grabbed as the pichu shifted in his arms, looking up at Silver with big, brown eyes.

The redhead and the electric type pokemon seemed to stare at each other for a long moment... Before the pichu broke away, trembling, with tears forming in its eyes. Gold gave a loud laugh as Silver frowned.

"Can't blame him, Silv." The gold-eyed trainer teased. "If I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd be pretty scared, too..." He eyed the shaking pichu, gently wrapping his arms around it. "But he'll warm up to you. We just need to take baby steps, I guess."


End file.
